


Worthy

by jeejaschocolate



Series: Chains and Skin and Scourge [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Anal Fingering, Begging, Blow Jobs, Complicated Relationships, Deicide, Edgeplay, Explicit Sexual Content, Hand Jobs, Horror Elements, Ifrit/Shiva romance, It's a thing now, M/M, Oral Sex, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Praise Kink, Romance, Scourge Sex, Verstael slowly going insane from Scourge, adoration, mentions of Ardyn's past, pre-game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 11:45:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17848817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeejaschocolate/pseuds/jeejaschocolate
Summary: (Set some time after “Enthralled”)As time advances, for one of them at least, Verstael is dying to prove himself worthy.





	Worthy

**Author's Note:**

> Alright so I'm in deep with these two. They're just so...ah, I can't help it. Love this ship! 
> 
> I got a lot of inspiration for this from the headcanons of people in Ardyn hell with me. Y'all know who you are ;) Muah <3
> 
> Also, the canon timeline gets a little confusing for me around here. I'm not sure where in the actual timeline Ardyn communes/conquers Ifrit/turns him with Scourge? From the new DLC trailer it looks like it happens as soon as he's released (I think) but the main events of this fic take place 20 years after he's released, according to the timeline, and apparently there's supposed to be some connection there. Whatever. I'm playing fast and loose with the canon I guess. Just know that Verstael is getting older and he's at least 15 years older than he was in "Enthralled." So somewhere in his 40s or 50s. 
> 
> Mind the tags!

Verstael could have masturbated a million times—an _endless_ amount of times—recalling the way Ardyn tamed the Infernian. It was quite literally a religious experience for him. Seeing that man, a man he loved so completely and so helplessly, force a god into submission. 

Fire. Unending flames that burned with a special type of heat, one that stung beneath the skin. Magical fire. Verstael had been there watching from a safe distance but he could still feel the flames lapping at him, the heat of thousands of years worth of unrequited revenge and hatred. A heat so very similar to Ardyn’s own. By now, Verstael knew the ins and outs of Ardyn’s heat. They’d shared intimacy many times and in a plethora of ways. It was a heat that stimulated Verstael to his core and made him _weak_. Unable to focus on anything except Ardyn. Ardyn had the magnetic force of a dying star. He was a blackhole drawing in everything around him—and so Verstael was pulled inexorably forward. Wrapped in that man’s orbit for most of his natural life.

As a young man, it was infatuation and then enthrallment. The older Verstael got, the more it turned into a sacrilegious kind of worship. Ardyn was the only god in Verstael’s life. The man of science wouldn’t acknowledge any other divinity even close to the same level. 

And the sight of him there. His love. Doing battle with the Pyreburner Himself.

Verstael would be lying if he said he didn’t touch himself as he watched. Just over his pants. It was inevitable, really. How could he watch Ardyn exert such mastery over the dark elements, over the Scourge itself, and do nothing? That immortal man moving fluidly through the air—fuck, Verstael had had that man’s cock in his mouth. In his ass. He’d _fucked_ that man. Licked every inch of him. He’d had him at his will, just as he’d been forced to surrender himself so many times. In equal measure. Even now, as Verstael started to show signs of aging (something Ardyn never would), the heat between them burned no cooler. 

Those hands…the hands Ardyn was using to conquer Ifrit…those hands had been in the intimate places of Verstael’s body. He wanted them there now. Still hot, _smoking_ , with the Infernian’s power. Muddy with Scourge and raw—filthy but more powerful than any living thing on this planet—

At the moment when Ifrit submitted to Ardyn, Verstael might have cum. He couldn’t really remember, honestly. The sight overshadowed everything else. Of course he realized later, cleaning up the sticky mess in his pants (a man his age, really, it should have been inconceivable), that he had cum at some point. Difficult to pinpoint when, or even how many times. 

Good. 

To hell with decency and dignity and all manner of sanity. Ardyn possessed a daemonic level of genius and Verstael would worship it without regret forever. 

He vowed then, in that moment, to be more useful to Ardyn. How could he give that man—a _godslayer_ —anything worthwhile? Ardyn was past the point where he needed someone to buy him clothes or curry favors. He could do that on his own. Most of the weapons Verstael invented these days were for the benefit of the empire, not for Ardyn. 

But Verstael wanted so badly to be useful. To do something meaningful for this man, this man who had unduly suffered in his own time. Only to be released in Verstael’s time as the greatest gift Verstael would ever know. 

He wanted to be memorable. _Worthy,_ even. Deserving of a fraction of Ardyn’s dark light. His attention. A piece of genuine affection—

And he’d better do it fast. The Scourge had started to take its toll on Verstael bit by bit. Sometimes he found himself confused. Standing in a room without memory of how he’d gotten there. Other times he started a coughing fit that ended with a tissue full of black ooze. 

He could feel it. The Scourge was getting stronger inside of him. 

As much as Verstael loved the feeling of nascent power in his veins, he also worried about the issue of time. Was his time running out? He wasn’t getting any younger. He hadn’t solved the puzzle of mortality yet. Hadn’t cracked the code on divinity, the ultimate goal. But he would, surely, if only he had enough time! 

Time was a relentless, thoughtless beast. Verstael would slaughter it if he could.

Regardless, Verstael wanted to do something for Ardyn. To please him and show his devotion. There were only a few things a man like Ardyn really wanted.

Verstael thought he might be able to accomplish one.

______________________________________________________

It was supposed to be a surprise. Verstael wasn’t sure he was really capable of grand romantic gestures, but he at least wanted to try. Besides, Ardyn didn’t have to know until the last moment, did he? 

Of course his plans were ruined fairly early into the project. Ardyn was too nosy for his own good. In his spare time (of which he seemed to have a limitless supply sometimes), he wandered the halls of Verstael’s laboratory. Sticking his nose into this and that. Overseeing the development of the magitech babies, Verstael’s clones. Randomly deciding to hold a baby every now and then and coo to it as if it were destined for a real life. Ardyn even took babies outside the lab sometimes and exposed them to the world. Just for the sake of it. 

Needless to say, his behavior disturbed some of the lab technicians. They weren’t entirely comfortable seeing the test subjects as ‘humans.’ Verstael couldn’t really care one way or the other—they were his clones, extensions of himself, he found it almost endearing the way Ardyn doted on them—but he got enough complaints that he eventually had to ask Ardyn to stop. 

Ardyn shrugged. “As you wish,” he agreed. “I daresay you’re all missing the forest for the trees. But, that’s none of my business.” 

Verstael didn’t know what Ardyn meant by that. Either way, they both let it go. 

Unfortunately, since Ardyn could no longer harass the lab technicians along the infant production line, that meant he had all the time in the world to bother Verstael. Get under his feet while he was working with the machinery. Tangle himself in Verstael’s hair while he poured over blueprints. It was becoming unbearable—that is to say, Verstael took great secret pleasure in it. He loved having Ardyn around. Even when the immortal accursed was being a complete nuisance. 

So eventually came the day when Ardyn strolled into Verstael’s office while he was plotting his special project. The thing he hadn’t even told the Emperor about yet (too soon). The plan was just a few sketches, some algorithms, and a name right now. Nothing more. 

Verstael was so absorbed in his work he didn’t hear Ardyn approach. He only realized he wasn’t alone when Ardyn stood behind him and spoke over his shoulder.

“Godslayer, hmm? What’s this now?” 

Nearly jumping out of his skin, Verstael scrambled to cover his blueprints with his hands. He tried to shove them under his journal, hiding them from view. But, naturally, Ardyn had already seen all there was to see.

“Don’t start keeping secrets from me, Besithia darling,” Ardyn rumbled. He sounded amused and exasperated. Verstael knew this as a sign that he was edging close to anger. (It was rare for Ardyn to appear outwardly angry for any reason, but Verstael knew him well enough to sense when he was annoyed.) “Not from _me_ , you understand?” 

Verstael sighed. Reluctantly, he uncovered his blueprints. “No it’s…it’s just not ready yet.” 

“Hmm.” Ardyn snatched up the document and read it thoroughly. 

So much for subterfuge and grand gestures. This man was impossible to surprise, wasn’t he? Did that come with the territory of being an omnipotent immortal legend? Or was he just an insufferable busybody? 

Splitting hairs, really. 

“The Ghorovas Rift,” Ardyn read. He glanced at Verstael over the paper, golden eyes twinkling. “Well we all know who sleeps there.” 

Verstael smiled back at him. Was Ardyn intrigued? Delighted, even, just at the idea? 

Placing the blueprints back on the table, Ardyn sauntered behind Verstael and wrapped him in a loose embrace. Fitting his jaw along the side of Verstael’s neck, ruffling Verstael’s graying hair with his nose. 

Several things happened whenever Ardyn touched him. For one, Verstael’s body sighed in relief—there was a kind of tension inside of him that could only be cured by Ardyn’s touch. A rubber band waiting to snap at all hours of the day and night. A part of him that wanted Ardyn every moment, waking or sleeping, and that could finally rest when he found himself in those arms. He was addicted to them. To the warmth. The smell of that man. The feel of his solid body outlined underneath many layers of clothes. Ardyn’s lips moving close to Verstael’s skin...they made him prickle with desire. Even here, in the middle of the day where anyone might walk in, Verstael found himself responding to Ardyn immediately. His posture loosened, his pants tightened. 

He’d been trained, of course. To expect nothing but absolute pleasure from this man’s body. It was a Pavlovian response at this point. Verstael bent his head closer to Ardyn’s face, quietly asking for more. 

The second thing that happened whenever Ardyn was near: The Scourge inside Verstael woke up. It became agitated or invigorated, hard to tell which, and started thrumming inside Verstael’s body like a generator. A sick, dark, hungry feeling slithered around his insides and made it difficult to concentrate. His thoughts seemed ungovernable. Images flicked through his mind at random intervals, some more inscrutable than others. He saw a magnificent weapon built with all the finesse granted to Verstael by his brilliant mind. His magnum opus. The Scourge gave him visions of success like this and it was wonderful.

It also sometimes put strange pictures in his head. He saw a monster’s jaws snapping the neck of some wild animal, ripping out the tendons in chunks. Blood everywhere. It made Verstael restless, his legs suddenly needing to run. Bouncing futilely. 

Or he would see a woman with big breasts getting ravaged by…something. A man or a creature. Its appearance seemed to shift the longer the image stayed in Verstael’s mind. What was clear was the woman; her head thrown back in pleasure, legs spread eagled, moaning wantonly as the creature plowed into her.Breasts bouncing, stomach heaving as she came over and over. Verstael thought he could feel every ounce of her pleasure—or sometimes, he was the creature fucking her. And he could feel their love-making from both sides. 

_That…_ those images were the most distracting of all. It was like getting a dose of pure desire from a shot in the arm. Verstael found himself drawn to Ardyn as a mindless slut, reduced to begging to be fucked. When the Scourge showed him those images, he needed Ardyn unequivocally and immediately. Nothing he was working on could matter as much as _that_. Those Scourge-born desires.

It only happened when Ardyn was around. Something about the way the immortal’s daemonic essence resonated with the burgeoning Scourge inside Verstael…or something. There was no research on this subject since there had never been a creature like Ardyn before. Still, Verstael felt sometimes like the Scourge had a mind of its own. And it wanted to join with Ardyn, with its source. 

Verstael blinked hard as the darkness inside of him roiled. He waited for images to come, if they would. Right now he was just tingling all over.

Ardyn kissed his neck, making Verstael moan quietly in his throat. He hadn’t expected his afternoon to go in this direction, but…well. 

“Keep focused, Besithia,” Ardyn tutted. “You’ve got my interest with this brainstorm of yours. I’d like to see where it goes.” 

Oh. One of _these_ moods. Ardyn at his teasing best.

“I could work faster if you left me alone,” Verstael pointed out.

“Mmm…” Ardyn slid his hands around to Verstael’s chest. He gently massaged the pectoral muscles there, purposefully brushing his thumbs over Verstael’s nipples. Humming in appreciation every time Verstael flinched. “I suppose that’s true. Do you want me to leave?” 

Verstael barked a quick laugh. “Of course not. I want you to fuck me first, then leave.” He laced his fingers with Ardyn’s. “Or I could bend you over this table and fuck you until you’re screaming in your ancient tongue. Watch you wobble out of here. Either way is fine with me.” 

At that, Ardyn chuckled. “Well. I think incentives work better when given after a task is completed. Doesn’t the research prove that true?” Technically yes, according to behavioral science. “Besides, time is fleeting. Best get to work now, my dear. I’ll watch.” 

Verstael huffed in disappointment. Ardyn was being withholding. It was one of Verstael’s least favorite moods, especially when he was on the receiving end of it. But there was no way to coerce Ardyn once he’d made up his mind. And damn it all, Ardyn was right about the incentives. They were effective motivation tools. 

Gritting his teeth while his cock throbbed, Verstael picked up his pencil and continued working. His mind was torn in two halves, one unable to think about anything other than the man behind him, the other easily slipping back into his work. After all, the work was always on at the forefront of his thoughts. His brain constantly churned ideas. Even when he wasn’t in the lab, he was still working in his mind. This part was just putting all his thoughts down on paper. 

Ardyn’s hands wandered down to Verstael’s hips. He dragged his fingers along Verstael’s thighs, breathing tightly in his ear the entire time. 

“Nnnh…” Verstael groaned. 

“I’ll offer you some encouragement, shall I?” Ardyn whispered. 

Encouragement was one thing, this was quite another! With Ardyn’s hands slinking back to cup his ass, Verstael was going mad. Even so, he knew the real focus of Ardyn’s attention right now was the work. That’s why Ardyn wasn’t giving him anything else. And also, probably, because he liked to see Verstael suffering. 

Blinking hard, Verstael forced himself to keep going. As he blinked, he saw a disturbingly close image of an insect being crushed under someone’s shoe. The guts dripping down the sole in gooey, crunchy mess. 

The Scourge.

Verstael shook his head hard to clear it. Why did he feel like that insect right now? Ensnared, already dead? 

Why was he still so turned on? 

He had a weird urge to get on his knees and start licking the bottom of Ardyn’s boots. 

“Focus, my friend,” Ardyn chided. “Like I said, time is fleeting.” He squeezed Verstael’s backside possessively, hard enough that Verstael could feel a tugging in his balls. 

Growling, Verstael threw Ardyn a look. “You’re a tyrant. You know that.” 

Ardyn bounced his eyebrows. “Am I? You’re the one planning to commit deicide, love.” 

“It’s…” Verstael licked his lips. He wasn’t sure he should say this. The romantic side of him was nothing short of a failure, but…with so many thoughts fighting for dominance in his head and his body so wildly out of control, Verstael asked in a roundabout way. “…Do you like it?” 

Ardyn hummed darkly in the back of his throat. His eyes flashed as his lips cut a harsh smirk. “Oh, I love it. I think it’s a wonderful idea and I am _thrilled_ to see you accomplish it.” 

Just as his heart took flight and soared from the praise, Ardyn grabbed a handful of Verstael’s hard cock. He reached effortlessly into his pants and pulled out that member, exposing it to the cold air of the Niflheim office. 

Verstael shook from head to toe. He cast a cursory glance at the door, listening if anyone might come in. Not that he particularly cared, but it was a habit. 

Their relationship had landed them in the neighborhood of indecent exposure many times before. This was nothing new.

Ardyn took Verstael’s cock in hand and began stroking him. Softly twisting around the shaft in a way that drove Verstael crazy. He thumbed the head of his prick and chuckled when his thumb came away wet. 

Verstael’s body was truly helpless against Ardyn. They could play whatever games they liked, the truth would always be obvious.

“But my dear…” Ardyn licked the shell of Verstael’s ear, nipping his earlobe facetiously. He spoke over the man’s loud gasps. “Right now it’s just that: An idea. I’d be happier seeing it done in reality.” 

Verstael leaned back against Ardyn. The need and the pleasure, mixed with the Scourge’s own savage lust, had taken over. He rocked his hips into Ardyn’s waiting hand, already close to the edge. Dear Eos on high…Ardyn’s sturdy hand on his cock. It could do such things to him.

“I know…” he admitted, gripping the edge of his desk for leverage as his hips shook faster. “I aim to…get it done…” 

Ardyn pumped him harder. “Yes, I’m sure you do. You’re always so thorough with your plans. So determined. And so, _so_ eager to please…” 

Even though it felt like Ardyn was talking down to him, Verstael didn’t care. He might be able to lie to other people in his life, to be an oppressive slave driver in the laboratory, but between the two of them—him and Ardyn—there would only ever be truth. Exactly what they were to each other. 

Ardyn squeezed his cock without mercy. Verstael was beginning to feel a push behind his eyes, evidence that he was rapidly approaching climax. He could feel it building in his abdomen, in his balls. Crawling up the backs of his legs. Gripping him from every angle. He could taste release on his lips, seeing with clarity an avalanche of snow falling from a mountaintop…

Shit, he was about to cum—

Then without warning Ardyn dropped his hand. He took several steps back and regarded Verstael from the other side of the desk. He did not seem amused (which he normally was when they played like this). Instead he seemed bored. Disdainful.

Verstael gripped his own manhood on instinct, nearly buckling at the knees. He tried to jerk himself to completion, but…with that look on Ardyn’s face he couldn’t get there. That look was a sucker punch to the gut. The ultimate turn-off for Verstael. 

Where had he gone wrong? Why was Ardyn displeased? Had he…miscalculated somewhere? 

Ardyn sighed. “I know you’re brilliant, Besithia. But all the same. I’ll save my applause for when the task is finished. You understand, right?” The corner of his mouth twitched. “Extrinsic motivation and all.” 

He paused. “Besides, for me this a personal matter. I’ll have no dalliances or failures when I face Her— _that_ I’m sure you understand. No room for error.” A thoughtful look crossed his face. “I mean, if you’re going to kill a god, you’d better do it right.” 

Swallowing a burning coal of frustration, Verstael tucked himself back into his pants. He’d deal with his leaking cock another time, it seemed. “She’s awake, you know. You woke her when you summoned the Pyreburner—”

“I know.” Now Ardyn wasn’t looking at him. Instead he was staring at the window. As if somehow he could see into the distance, the blizzards she was conjuring out there. 

Suddenly he sucked his teeth and turned away. “That’s why I tell you time is fleeting. Better get a move on with that research of yours.” He ambled towards the door and added, “This is no time for distractions.” 

As the door closed, Verstael sank into his chair. Now that he was alone, he thought about masturbating—he’d been so close he’d already ruined his underthings just from the pre-cum—but it didn’t hold the same appeal. The Scourge within him had subsided with Ardyn’s departure, leaving him with nothing but an oily taste in his mouth and a dull headache. 

He slammed his fist down on the desk. Grunting in a mix of sexual frustration and personal shame. Ardyn was not impressed. He wouldn’t be until this was done. In a lot of ways, that was fair. This wasn’t some kind of joke, this was Ardyn’s revenge. Verstael had learned to respect that revenge the same way he respected his own desire to see Lucis burn to the ground. They were one and the same goal, really. 

Damn. Damn, damn, damn….

Ardyn probably wouldn’t touch him until Shiva was dead. Not only that, Verstael could only hope he hadn’t lost esteem in the immortal’s eyes. He didn’t want to look like he was just toying with the idea. This was serious for him too. He wanted Ardyn to recognize that.

Plus, Ardyn had mentioned time over and over. Was he referring to Verstael’s own limited time on this earth? The way Ardyn would surely outlive him, since he would outlive them all in the end. The way Verstael would eventually become useless to him in death…

Verstael _hated_ thinking about the way his time was running out. He hated knowing that Ardyn was thinking about it too. He hated…fuck it. He hated everything.

If only this could have been a surprise! 

_______________________________________

Ardyn squinted around the snow in his eyes. He watched as magitech drop ships and combat ships swarmed Shiva’s giant body. She cast blizzaja spell after blizzaja spell, but it just wasn’t enough. The ships were too much. Especially equipped with Verstael’s new weapon: The Godslayer. 

He wondered if She could sense him here. Standing a good distance away, watching. Probably She could. She could certainly sense the presence of the Infernian—a token connection Ardyn carried with him everywhere. And Ifrit could sense Her. Ardyn could feel Ifrit’s will burning in the back of his mind. Like a persistent tugging on his sleeve.

Ifrit felt vindicated. He rejoiced watching his lover—his _betrayer_ —be destroyed. But at the same time, there was…sadness. Despair. 

He loved Her. 

Ardyn clutched his hat as a particularly harsh gust of wind assaulted him. It was getting difficult to stand here in the snow. His feet and hands were already frozen and the rest of him was frostbitten. But those were inconsequential matters. 

Ardyn had been imagining this day since he saw the plans in Verstael’s office. He hadn’t known if his poor, high-reaching friend would be capable of defeating her, but it seemed…

He was. 

In a few moments Shiva would be dead. These were Her dying breaths. Desperation moves and last ditch attempts to flee. Her body had landed in Ghorovas Rift and She was beginning to settle. Slowly surrendering.

Ardyn would have expected more of a fight from Her. More effort. It was almost as if….as if She didn’t care if She died. 

Death was, after all, another form of sleep. A kind of sleep Ardyn had never known.

As his body continued to freeze, Ardyn clutched a hand to his chest. He also hadn’t expected all these unlooked-for _feelings_ to crop up. He thought he’d buried his pious adoration for Shiva underneath millennia of hatred. But here and now, watching Her die…he found himself grieving. Marginally, at least. Underneath a landslide of glee and vindictiveness. He was glad the world would be rid of Shiva at last! One less Astral to worry about, one less problem for Ardyn to deal with. That was fantastic news!

All the same. She was an ancient being. Even older than Ardyn. And now She was…gone.

He watched Her die. Ifrit’s cry of sadness reverberated through his bones. He didn’t know if anyone else could hear it, though. 

And oh. How Ardyn envied Her. Dying like that. He wished he could know what it felt like. He knew Ifrit’s position quite well. He’d seen his own love die in front of him once upon a time. Ardyn had wished for death from that moment on. 

…Wished and been denied. 

So be it. Shiva had brought this on Herself. 

Forcing his frozen body to move, Ardyn trudged back to the makeshift headquarters Niflheim had erected near the mountains. Verstael would be there, of course. Watching. No doubt rejoicing that his plan had succeeded. And he should rejoice; it was a brilliant strategy and a cruelly perfect weapon. 

Ardyn would congratulate the man, of course. And also…

Well, he also…

He thought about the way Verstael would welcome him. A prideful face and a warm, living body. Spread arms and spread legs. Wanting nothing but Ardyn, willing to do anything for a touch from Ardyn’s cursed form. 

A small smile graced Ardyn’s lips, even through the frostbite. He wanted him in that moment. Wanted to see Verstael. To…bide some time with him. 

Although Verstael was a diabolical man (and probably a total fool for wishing to have anything to do with Ardyn), his arms were no less human. No less welcoming. At least to Ardyn. 

They would be a comfort in this blizzard.

_______________________________________________

Verstael hung up the phone. He’d just informed his Radiance of his success. Shiva was dead and his weapon had proven viable. Amid his happiness, Iedolas promoted Verstael right then and there (again). Now there was no one above him in rank in the entire empire, save the Emperor himself. 

Splendid. Verstael looked out at Shiva’s carcass. It languished in the Ghorovas Rift, as it would forevermore. _He’d_ done that. He’d killed her. It was actually his first time committing intentional murder. Even though it was only by proxy, since he hadn’t been in the ships himself pulling the trigger. He’d only designed the weapons. Still, it counted. Verstael had killed someone—a god, no less. 

Let it never be said he did anything by halves. 

“Well done, Commander Besithia, sir,” a nearby solider commended. One of the last human ones, perhaps. 

“Mm. You may go.” Verstael wished to be alone. He was high off the murder—elevated like a being of ultimate power—and he had only one desire: Wait for Ardyn. 

“Yes, sir.” The troops filed out. Finally alone, Verstael let out a deep breath he’d been holding ever since this day started.

He’d never doubted he’d be victorious. No, never. 

Well, maybe for a moment there….

Anyway. It was done. It was done and he’d succeeded. At last. At last, at last. Now he could face Ardyn again with pride. He could brandish his deeds in the air and proclaim that he was at the very least competent. Even Ardyn would have to admit that…! 

Not a moment later, the immortal accursed himself burst through the door. Snowflakes whirled in around him and immediately melted in the warmth of the room. Ardyn’s hands and lips were blue. His face was cracked in places with pieces of ice lodged along his jawline. 

He was frozen!

“Sweet hell, Ardyn!” Verstael ran to him. He took off his gold plated fur coat and wrapped it around the immortal’s shoulders. Forcing Ardyn’s hands into the fur to warm them. He pulled the icy fedora off Ardyn’s head and instead covered him with his fur scarf. Wiping melting ice and water from Ardyn’s hair. 

“I’m quite alright, darling,” Ardyn murmured. He was smiling, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“No, you’re a block of ice.” Verstael dragged Ardyn over to the fireplace. The fire had been roaring since they got there. Keeping the Niflheim soldiers toasty inside. “Come, get warm.” 

Ardyn let himself be dragged. He let Verstael sit him down on the floor and continue to paw at him. He watched motionlessly as Verstael took one of Ardyn’s hands in both of his own and blew warm breath on him. Rubbing his hand to get the circulation back. 

“You needn’t fuss…I’ll be right as rain in a moment anyhow…” Ardyn said that, but he made no move to pull away. 

“Don’t be foolish,” Verstael reprimanded. “You may be immortal but you can still _feel_. It must have been terrible for you out there.” 

Ardyn blinked. For once, he said nothing.

Verstael stroked Ardyn’s cold face. He could feel unspeakable distance between them and he didn’t know where it came from. He had expected Ardyn to be jovial once Shiva was dead. And here was the man—an idiot letting himself freeze in the elements and then staring into the fireplace like a dullard! What on Eos was this? 

No matter. Verstael would warm him. He could fix this. 

After several minutes, Ardyn’s skin got its color back. Whether that was because of Verstael’s ministrations or Ardyn’s magical rejuvenation, he couldn’t tell. But it didn’t matter. In the yellowish light of the fire, Verstael watched Ardyn’s lips fade into their usual plump red. Under his grip, Ardyn’s hands slowly warmed. 

Better. 

As Verstael brushed melted snow and ice from various parts of Ardyn’s figure, he suddenly felt Ardyn’s hands on his face. The sensation made him stop. Ardyn was staring at his mouth, an unreadable look in his eyes. Before he could ask if everything was alright, Ardyn was kissing him. Slow and deep. Overpowering any other thought in Verstael’s head. 

He hadn’t been expecting kisses. Not that they were a rare occurrence, but Ardyn usually only kissed him when he had a point to make. Something he was asking for or some other piece of leverage, coaxing Verstael into action. This time it just felt like…a kiss. 

He cradled the side of Ardyn’s face and kissed back.

Eventually Ardyn pulled away, a line of saliva connecting their mouths. Strangely it was the most intimate thing they’d ever done. He pressed their foreheads together and for a minute there was silence. 

Verstael couldn’t remember if he’d ever been kissed for no reason like that before in his life. There had to be a reason, right? Ardyn was thanking him for succeeding with his plans. That had to be it. Yes. That was more comfortable. Typical for them.

“Are you warmer now?” he asked. His violet eyes darted across Ardyn’s face. Searching for signs of…anything. 

“Yes, my dear.” Ardyn grinned wolfishly. “Much warmer now, thank you.” 

Verstael felt the Scourge begin to stir in his veins. His breath quickened with his pulse and he sat up on his knees. Smiling, showing Ardyn exactly what he was about to do, Verstael reached for him. He pulled him in for another kiss.

This one was different. It was hungry. Laced with the bitter taste of frustration, something Verstael had been carrying with him ever since the last time Ardyn teased him. In his office that day. That had been the last time—sadly, Verstael hadn’t been able to masturbate since then. Everything felt like failure to him once he remembered the look on Ardyn’s face. Nothing worked. He’d become practically impotent and it was truly awful.

With the Glacian dead now though and Ardyn giving passionate kisses, all that was in the past. Verstael was rock hard and ready to go. He felt the thrill of success (of murder) and it turned him on like usual. He reveled in his proximity to Ardyn and let the familiar feelings wash through him. 

This was what he needed. _Really_ needed right now, in fact. Since he’d been denied for months. 

“I believe I owe you a reward, my good Besithia,” Ardyn crooned. He held onto Verstael’s shoulders to keep the man from climbing all over him. 

Verstael nodded enthusiastically, his skin prickling under his clothes as he imagined what Ardyn might do to him. “Yes. Whatever you deem…fair compensation.” 

Ardyn cupped Verstael’s face. Full of affection. “Well, you performed most adequately. Actually you exceeded all expectations! You’ve done a arvelous job, darling. Truly. You should be proud.” 

Verstael nuzzled Ardyn’s hand, drunk from the praise. It was _so good_ , but he wanted more!

“Are you pleased?” Verstael asked, kissing Ardyn’s hand. Wrist to fingertips. Every bit he could reach.

“In the extreme.” Ardyn flashed some of his teeth. “It’s not every day you meet a man willing to kill a god for you.” 

Elated, Verstael crawled into Ardyn’s lap. Ardyn allowed him to kiss his face and neck for a bit, holding him in his arms the way Verstael liked. Then, he stopped him and said, “I’ve got a special treat planned for you, love. Go and sit in that chair over there.” 

A shiver travelled down Verstael’s spine and landed firmly in his testicles. He couldn’t wait to see what Ardyn had in store—he loved knowing that Ardyn had been imagining what to do to him. He climbed into the chair so fast he almost tripped over himself. 

“Take care not to hurt yourself now.” Ardyn inched forward on his knees. “No need to rush. We have all the time in the world.”

They…did? Verstael frowned. Since when? He thought Ardyn had been fretting the discrepancy in their lifespans. Or maybe…maybe he hadn’t? Had that all been in Verstael’s mind? His own fears projected back at him? 

His mind played tricks on him sometimes. Increasingly. Verstael couldn’t really be sure of the evidence his own eyes offered. The only thing he could rely on for sure was his body. His body paired with Ardyn’s. Ardyn’s hands on him. That was the nearest he’d get to absolute clarity anymore.

He was fine with that. 

Ardyn kneeled before Verstael on the floor. He pried Verstael’s legs apart easily and settled in between them. 

“Oh…fuck. Stars above, Ardyn…” Verstael knew what Ardyn was about to do and it aroused him so much he felt a bit lightheaded. 

Ardyn hardly ever offered to give blowjobs. He seemed much more comfortable being on the receiving end of them. Which wasn’t a problem for Verstael, but. He liked getting his dick sucked too. He was a man, after all. And Ardyn’s mouth was a holy relic. A divine right of passage. The most perfect, beautiful little hole. Smooth as silk. Tight around the lips and hot all the way through. So good on his cock. 

Verstael gripped the arms of the chair and tried to control himself. 

Ardyn undid the buckles of Verstael’s pants. “I know, I know. But you’ve done so well. You deserve it.” 

He did. Verstael’s head fell back against the chair as Ardyn pulled out his cock and stroked it. He did deserve it, didn’t he? He really did. 

With that perpetual smile still on his lips, Ardyn wrapped his mouth around Verstael’s manhood. He suckled the head for a moment, lapping the wetness around Verstael’s slit with tiny flicks of his tongue. 

“Oh!” It was immediately so wonderful Verstael’s stomach clenched. He jerked forward, trying to remind himself not to get too excited right away. He wanted this to last! 

If only he could.

Ardyn swirled his tongue. Staring at Verstael the whole time, drinking down his reactions. Knowing all too well what he was doing to the man and deriving some level of pleasure from it. Exactly how much Verstael couldn’t be sure. 

He was quivering. Months of pent up frustration leaked out from the tip of his cock. His knees trembled, trying to clack together and failing because Ardyn was in the way. His penis had grown to twice its normal thickness, even compared to his usual hardness, and it was violently red. Angry and desperate. 

Ardyn didn’t seem to mind. Rumbling in approval, he took it like an expert. He shoved Verstael’s prick all the way to the back of his throat and massaged it with the thickest part of his tongue. 

“Ah, ha—!” Verstael thought he might cry. He just needed a little more and then he’d be there. As much as he wanted to hold back and let it last, there was just no way! Not with Ardyn taking him like that! 

“Oh…” Without thinking, Verstael buried his hand in Ardyn’s hair. He loved this hair so much. He loved everything about this man. His heart overflowed with love and Scourge—the blight inside of him pulsated in time with his cock. It was a revelatory sensation. 

Verstael’s judgement left him. He wanted to tell Ardyn everything, he wanted him to know how much he loved him…even though they were careful never to say anything of the sort. This was different. Ardyn had kissed him and now he was sucking him…Verstael could not hide the truth in his heart when he had all this to contend with! 

“Ardyn, I…” Verstael snapped his hips in time to the movements of Ardyn’s head. “I…love…” He bit his lip. Fighting with himself. “I love…it. I love it, Ardyn…I…” 

Hell, he couldn’t stop! “I love you…” 

Once the words were out, Ardyn went still. He closed his eyes and slowly let Verstael’s cock fall from his lips.

“N-no…!” Verstael whined. He had been seconds away from climax! Again, Ardyn denied him. His balls ached so badly Verstael worried they might be damaged in some way. Not to mention the painful way his cock throbbed. It was full to bursting. 

He needed release…! He _needed_ it. Or else he would actually go insane and they’d have to lock him up in an asylum somewhere—

Ardyn wasn’t looking at him. 

“Please!” Verstael shook his hips. Wagging his cock in front of Ardyn’s face. Begging him to pay attention and give him the release he craved. Nothing else would do except Ardyn’s divine touch. From his hands or his lips—fuck, Verstael thought he might be able to come just from Ardyn’s warm breath ghosting the skin on his prick.

“Please, Ardyn…let me cum…I’m sorry if I…I don’t know, but please…I really need to…just let me…” He grabbed Ardyn’s face and tried to force him to look at him. 

In a cold rush, Ardyn’s face broke into torrents of dark ooze. Smudges of blackness formed around the side of his mouth like sores. His eyes inverted and the sclera turned yellow. This was his daemonic visage. By now a very familiar sight. 

Verstael was not turned off in the slightest. He did not let go, even as the Scourge washed over his hand and coiled around his wrist. Daemonic tendrils slithered up Verstael’s arm. Searching for something. He did not fight them. He let them roam across his face. Into his eyes and his mouth.

His cock did not flag one bit. If anything, the touch of the Scourge made him harder. A drum was beating somewhere inside his core and it reverberated joyously as Ardyn’s ooze raked over him. 

“This is the face you love?” Ardyn asked. Point blank. Emotionless.

“Yes, it is.” Verstael licked his lips. Chasing the taste of the Scourge. “You know it is!” 

After a tense moment, Ardyn let his head drop against Verstael’s knee. He laughed at himself. “You’re right. I do know.” He kissed Verstael’s thigh with his oily lips. “I know.” 

Verstael was _dying_. Images flashed through his head of lava rushing to the surface of a volcano. Red hot. _Burning_. Exploding. Untamable. 

“Ardyn, please…no more of this…” Verstael would have touched himself by now if he thought he could actually get himself there. But he knew he couldn’t. “Please touch me. However you want, but have mercy…I mean, look at me…”

Ardyn’s daemonic eyes glanced at Verstael’s cock. He slowly broke out into a grin. “…Oh yes. What a lovely sight.”

It seemed Ardyn was getting back in the mood. Thank the stars. 

Now if only he would just touch him!

Verstael strained his hips, trying to get his prick closer to Ardyn’s lips. “Ardyn! Why aren’t you…? Have I not…proven myself worthy?” 

Saying nothing, apparently content to let Verstael squirm, Ardyn held up two fingers. He brought them to Verstael’s mouth. Knowing what was expected, Verstael sucked on them dutifully. Thoroughly. Letting the Scourge wash through him. Hardly the first time. 

“You have, my dear. You’ve proven yourself many times over.” Ardyn tugged his fingers out of Verstael’s mouth. He slid them into the man’s pants from the opening in the front, brushing his balls. Fishing for something behind…

Verstael spread his legs wide as he was penetrated. He _loved_ having Ardyn’s fingers inside him. He only wished they would fuck him properly! Instead they just gently pushed into him. Centimeter by centimeter. Caressing the sensitive walls inside, twisting when they found his sweet spot. Lingering _right there,_ in no rush to give him any kind of lasting pleasure. Just resting on his prostate. Full of entropy. One flick of those fingers and Verstael would explode—

He howled like an animal. Out of frustration and the elusive promise of more. An image of a wild dog flashed in his mind’s eye and suddenly Verstael wanted to get on all fours and present to Ardyn like a bitch. 

What was happening to him…? 

Ardyn kissed the tip of Verstael’s cock. “I never could have imagined someone like you.” 

What did he mean by that? Verstael frowned and thought to ask, but then he felt something liquid wriggle its way inside him. Something dark and powerful, filling him from the ass up—and of course he knew what it was. But being filled with Scourge from _that place_ did strange things to him. The core of dark miasma inside him unfurled and spread to every corner of his body.

Verstael convulsed in pleasure. Experiencing something akin to an ecstatic seizure. His couldn’t see or hear anything for many long moments. Just purple and black shapes swimming across his eyes and darkness beating in his ears. His cock was warm again—Ardyn sucked him down to the root. He knew that feeling— 

Somehow he was cumming. His convulsions did not stop. He emptied himself into Ardyn’s mouth, torrents of cum. He came and came. It seemed to go on a very long time. The pleasure was so intense and the darkness was so disorienting…Verstael completely lost track of where and who he was. There was just this. This never-ending state of orgasm and miasma. 

He could feel Ardyn inside of him still. _There_. Fucking him through it.

He wanted to live here. If it was just this blackness, this orgasm, forever then…Verstael could abide that. 

Regrettably, all things must come to an end.

Seconds or minutes or days later, light returned to him. He blinked. He was on the floor somehow. Laying in Ardyn’s arms. His limbs were sprawled in every direction, his heart racing. He was naked, covered in his own cum. 

How had he gotten here? 

He looked up at Ardyn—why were his eye muscles so difficult to control?—and attempted to say something. His mouth was so wet from his own drool that Verstael managed to do nothing but spray spit at him. 

Ardyn was smiling, no longer a daemon. His skin was bright and his crimson hair floated around him like a halo. He was…an angel? Or…? “That’s alright, darling. You’ve just been through quite an intense experience. Don’t try to move around too much yet.” He combed his fingers through Verstael’s disheveled hair. “Rest.” 

Verstael wanted to rest. He was suddenly exhausted. But, he had so many questions…

When he glanced down at his naked body, Verstael saw purple shadows lingering here and there. Miasma. Rising off his skin like heat from concrete. 

Oh. Of course. So he was turning.

…Fascinating. 

Verstael laid his head in Ardyn’s lap and felt the shadows slowly subside. He wondered how long it would take for him to turn completely. And when he did, what would happen then? Would their time together be finished? Or would it instead be the start of a completely new journey…something mere mortals couldn’t conceive of…?

Smiling, Verstael fell asleep. 

He was content. He could feel the thrum of Ardyn’s presence nearby, blanketing him. He remembered the smile on Ardyn’s face, how pleased he’d been. How he said Verstael had proven himself many times over.

That was all he could ever ask for. 

**Author's Note:**

> I love writing Verstael slowly getting taken over by Scourge. Don't ask me why. Also please don't ask me why that's a sexual thing in my head. I don't have any answers lol. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! I hope you're as hyped as I am for the Ardyn DLC :) Come chat with me on hellblr about it if you want @jeejascoffee.


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